Page 87 of Sin and Redemption

Growl appeared behind Maximus, a shotgun in hand. I realized they were both only in pajamas and heavy boots. “Let’s get back to the house. Your mother’s alone.”

“Oh no,” I breathed out.

“The dogs will protect her,” Maximus assured me, but Growl’s obvious worry made me anxious. I didn’t want to be responsible for Cara getting hurt. Especially not because of my irresponsible actions.

Maximus lifted me in his arms and began running as if I weighed nothing, while his father guarded our backs with a pointed gun. Bacon dashed past us. Growl stopped abruptly and fired three shots in close succession. I clung to Maximus, my ears ringing from the shots. Maximus tightened his hold on me and sped up even more. Within a few minutes, we were back at the house. Cara was on the porch in a heavy down coat over her nightgown, with the four pit bulls positioned beside her like guards and a shotgun in hand. Spotlights illuminated the area, making stars dance in my vision from the sudden brightness.

“Go back in. Bratva is here,” Growl ordered. I’d never heard him talk to Cara like that. She didn’t hesitate and moved inside. Before we could follow, a shot rang out. Maximus dropped to the ground with me under him. Fear surged through me. Had he been hit? When I saw his grim expression as he pulled me behind his truck parked in the driveway, I breathed a sigh of relief. He’d ducked down to protect us. Growl turned on his heel, no longer heading for the house, and hid behind his own truck before he fired in the direction of the woods. The pit bulls inside the house with Cara barked angrily, ready to jump into the fight.

More shots were fired. I had trouble locating where they came from. Then something small landed next to Growl’s truck.

“Dad! Grenade!”

Maximus pressed me to the ground and covered my ears with his hands. The following explosion still rang in my ears, and the blast sent a shiver through my body. Glass from the bursting car windows and shrapnel from the chassis mixed with dirt and wood splinters rained down on us.

“Ryan!” Cara screamed through an opening in the front door. “Ryan?”

Maximus’s expression reflected the shock I felt, but his face also showed fury and determination. “I’ll kill those fuckers.”

“I called in reinforcement!” Cara screamed. “You better run before they hunt you down!”

I realized she was shouting at the Russians.

Maximus peered out from behind his car, probably to check on his dad, but more shots forced him to pull back.

“Maximus, if you don’t come out, I’ll bomb your mom to pieces too!” a man with a heavy Russian accent shouted.

“It’s okay. Help your mom,” I breathed even though I was terrified for myself and our baby.

“I won’t leave. They’ll kill us all if I don’t kill them. They won’t spare anyone.”

Maximus squatted and pulled his second gun, looking thoughtful. “Fuck. I know Dad would never do it, but I don’t see another chance.”

I wasn’t sure what Maximus meant. I tried to catch a glimpse under the car to see Growl. The other truck was a mess. I couldn’t imagine that anyone would survive being close to it. My heart ached thinking about Growl.

Suddenly, Bacon appeared beside us. He must have hidden because of the explosion. He wagged his tail against me. In the light from the spotlights, which was dimmer now because two of five had been destroyed by the blast, I could see that he had a wound in his flank. A graze shot from the look of it.

Maximus still seemed to mull over what to do. Then he gave a resolute nod. “I can’t beat them alone.”

I frowned. “Maybe reinforcement will be here soon.”

“Not soon enough.”

“But we have reinforcement,” Maximus said, and his eyes moved to the dog cages.

My eyes widened.

As if Cara had read his mind, she opened the front door and rushed outside, followed by her four pit bulls. The dogs sprinted in the direction of where Growl had to be, but Cara ran toward the cages.

“Mom seems to have the same plan.”

Maximus glanced at me.

“Help her!”

“I won’t leave you.”

“Help her, or we’ll all die. Bacon can protect me.”

---